Crab House at Pier 39

Photo - Yelp, Liz D.

Crab House at Pier 39, Lunch, Fisherman's Wharf
July 16, 2016

P:
Crab Cakes
Garlic Noodles with crab, parsley, garlic, paprika butter sauce

J:
Crab Caesar


Notes:
I know I've talked alotta smack about the quality of restaurants (or lack thereof) at Fisherman's Wharf, but we have a couple of friends who love this place and so we met them at the Crab House for lunch.

It seems they specialize in steamy, roasted cast-iron platters of seafood, plastic bibs recommended.  I came close to indulging in one of their sizzling skillets myself, but I would have been alone, and this is not something you do alone.  Maybe next time (?).

Instead, I played it safe with the Crab Caesar, and I was not disappointed.  Whole leaves of baby romaine were generously coated with dressing and grated Parmigiano, a small mound of crabmeat laid in the center.  It wasn't a life-altering salad, but it was a really good salad; no complaints.  Okay, well, the 1/2 roll/slab-crouton might have broken my teeth, but I managed.

Patrick enjoyed his crab cakes, though they weren't mostly-crab, as we prefer crab cakes to be.  Again, nothing life altering, but good.  The garlic noodles were a different story, though.  While nicely flavored, they were swimming in oil.  Swimming!!  (There was about an inch of oil in the bottom of his bowl.)  It was a huge turnoff.

Will there be a next time?  Based on Patrick's experience alone, I'd say not, but my salad was perfectly good and our friend across the table had some fabulous shrimp and chips (garlic fries, really).  We won't give up on this place altogether, though you might not find us there on our own.